Aaron Rodgers’ Pittsburgh Steelers fell 20-3 to the New England Patriots on Sunday. The defeat dropped Pittsburgh to 1-1 through the first two games of the 2026 season, while Rodgers’ struggles drew strong criticism from former Patriots Super Bowl champion Asante Samuel.
Aaron Rodgers’ Nightmare Game Sparks Blunt Reaction From Asante Samuel
Rodgers struggled to find answers against the Patriots’ pass rush, and when pressured, he completed only 5 of 12 attempts for 34 yards while being sacked four times. He also managed just 8 completions on 17 attempts for 42 yards, along with two sacks and an interception when blitzed by the Patriots’ defense.
The performance was a stark contrast to Rodgers’ peak years. In his 2020 MVP season, he threw for 4,299 yards. He completed 70.7% of his passes that season, putting together one of the most statistically dominant seasons of his career.
With Rodgers struggling to generate consistent offense through the first two games of the season, his recent form has drawn criticism.
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Samuel used the latest episode of the “Say What Needs To Be Said” podcast to discuss Rodgers’ performance and said that his age may be showing.
“Aaron Rodgers is terribly mediocre right now over these two games,” Samuel said. “Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers could be one of those teams that I’m talking about, that’s knocking that rust off and building that chemistry with his team. But he attempted 39 passes today and only completed 23 of those 39 pass attempts.
“That’s not good. I saw all of those passes, and Aaron Rodgers doesn’t look close to the accuracy we’re used to seeing from the great Aaron Rodgers. You know, his pass attempts down the football field looked awful. It was ugly. They were way off.”
Through two games this season, Rodgers has completed just 33% of his passes when under pressure while averaging only 3.5 yards per attempt in those situations. The physical punishment he endured against New England added another concern, as Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss delivered a major hit on the quarterback from his blind side, resulting in a fumble on third down.
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Rodgers entered the 2026 season following a 2025 campaign in which he helped Pittsburgh reach the playoffs. He finished that season with a 71.9 PFN QB Impact rating, which ranked 29th at his position.
Despite Rodgers’ recent struggle, it would be difficult to envision Pittsburgh moving away from him during his final NFL season. The Steelers will need to establish a more reliable running game and improve their protection schemes if they want to keep him and remain competitive.
Their next challenge will come in the Week 3 clash against the Cincinnati Bengals.
